The Dallas Mavericks introduced Masai Ujiri as their new Team President and Alternate Governor on Tuesday afternoon, hosting a press conference for media members to welcome Ujiri to the franchise.
Ujiri is considered one of the most respected executives in the NBA, having a track record of constructing multiple contending rosters across his stints with the Denver Nuggets and Toronto Raptors. Ujiri won the only NBA title of his career in 2019 and will be hoping to add more with his role on the Mavericks. He will be looking to put his stamp on the franchise this offseason, which might lead to major personnel changes.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd has been in charge since 2021 and has led the team to a Western Conference Finals and NBA Finals. But he’s also coached the team to three losing seasons as well, including the last two seasons. While he’s a respected head coach, Kidd’s job isn’t safe, especially if the team is going for a franchise makeover.
Ujiri was asked about Kidd’s position as head coach during his introductory press conference, where he refused to confirm his stance on a potential change.
“I had a conversation with Jason Kidd yesterday, and I will meet with (him). He’s a Hall of Fame player who has done a great job, but we’re going to look at it from head-to-toe. That’s the right way to look at an organization and evaluate it in every single way that we can. I talked to him, and I will hear his thoughts on where he sees us.”
The Mavericks extended coach Kidd’s contract in the 2025 offseason, so a potential change might cost the franchise a significant amount of money. However, if Ujiri decides he needs a new coach in place to take the Cooper Flagg era Mavericks to potential championship success, he will do it. Ujiri famously fired Dwayne Casey weeks after Casey won NBA Coach of the Year because of their exit from the 2018 NBA Playoffs.
Ujiri will be in charge of all basketball operations on the Mavericks and have a voice in the NBA Board of Governors, with current Governor and team owner Patrick Dumont explicitly adding the title of alternate Governor to Ujiri’s title. Dumont relied on Nico Harrison to be the team’s basketball expert when the Adelson family bought the franchise, but that led to Harrison trading Luka Doncic away and handicapping the Mavericks championship window half a season after an NBA Finals appearance.
Hiring Ujiri after a six-month search shows that the team was committed to going the opposite way with this hire, targeting a well-known basketball expert from both a business and scouting perspective. His position as Alternate Governor will give him ultimate sign-off on all basketball decisions, with only Dumont capable of overruling him.
It’ll be fascinating to see if Ujiri’s first move as President is to fire Kidd and install a new head coach who will match his philosophy. If that happens, Kidd will probably become the biggest coach on the market this offseason.
